Repotting Phalaenopsis keikis into finer media

Recently potted phalaenopsis keikis

     The media I originally used for my Phal keikis was very coarse, and would dry out within a day.  I liked this as a way of helping transition the roots from being in open air to being potted, but the daily watering was bothersome.

     In addition I am going away for 5 days for Thanksgiving, and while my dear boyfriend will be around to water a few of my orchids, I would rather not hassle him with caring for the entire collection.  So the fewer of my plant that need daily watering, the better.

     As a result, I switched out the original media for the finer grained material that I use on my oncidiums.  This should retain moisture for a longer time than the coarse bark mix.  The roots look healthy, and the older keiki is already growing a third new root.

And since I am going away, and leaving my computer behind in an attempt to avoid working over the break, I probably won't be posting until the weekend.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Potting the first of the phal keikis

Keiki orchid ready for separation from mother plant

     Phalaenopsis keikis are generally considered ready for potting once they have 2-3 leaves, and roots that are at least 3 inches long.  The roots on this 1-year old keiki are approaching 5 inches in length, and if they continued growing out any farther, then I would have struggled to find any pot to fit them.  It is time to remove the little guy from the mother plant, and pot it on its own.

Newly separated phalaenopsis keiki

     I cut the keiki from the spike with some wire cutters, sprinkled cinnamon over the cut to prevent infection, and left the keiki to soak in a tub of water for 10 minutes.  The water was treated with Superthrive, which should hopefully  encourage vigorous root growth.

potting a phal keiki

     Soaking the roots in water helped soften them so that I was able to (just barely) curl the 5-inch roots into a 3-inch clear plastic pot.  Although these roots are long, there are only two of them, and I worried that any larger of a pot would take too long to dry out.  

Newly potted phalaenopsis keiki

     The keiki is now potted in a 3" clear plastic pot, with phal bark mix.  I will now log it as a separate plant: Phal noid 'keiki 1'.

Phalaenopsis keiki

     I am trying something a little strange but possibly helpful with my second largest keiki.  Its roots are about 3" long, and I want to wait a little longer before removing it.  In an attempt to get the roots to curl into a pot-friendly shape, I tried strapping a plastic pot to the keiki while it's still attached to the spike.  This makes the spike quite top-heavy, so I added a support stake.  I'll see if this is more helpful than it is ungainly.  I expect to separate this keiki in another month.